This blog offers my strange perspective on the world. Hopefully it will amuse.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Ennies judge, part 4 (finale)

My responsibilities for the 2012 ENnies have concluded.The ceremony happened on Friday, 8/17.Congratulations to ALL the winners – you can
find the complete list here: 2012 ENnie award winners

Being a part of this process was very rewarding, to say the
least.Attending the ceremony as a judge
felt great.I was genuinely thrilled for
all the winners, and not knowing which products won before-hand made for a very
exciting evening.

Among the winners, I was probably *most* excited for
Gaming As Women,Masks: 1,000 Memorable NPCs for Any Roleplaying Game, and
Stealing Cthulhu.Gaming as Women is a blog
written by a collection of women about their experiences, good and bad, in the
gamer community.Though I can’t relate
to everything they post, I am happy in the knowledge that there is a place to
discuss any issues openly and honestly.Masks is a product I will be using for the rest of my gaming
career.It is full of rich NPCs that
would add depth to any encounter, session or campaign in any system.And Stealing Cthulhu provides new ways to
incorporate Cthulhu into your campaigns.They are all worthy of their wins.

Now, to highlight a few other products.

As a judge, I was given the privilege of awarding a Judge’s
Spotlight ENnie award.My choice is Edge
by Outrider Studios:http://www.edgerpg.com/.

[gush/]I absolutely,
positively love the world that was created for Edge.There are beings with preternatural powers that
humans call “angels” and “demons,” though they are not exactly as we think of
them here on Earth.These angels and
demons exert power and influence over humans, and they are diametrically
opposed to one another – and compelled to destroy their counterparts.This leads to conflict, and occasionally
full-scale war.There are Edgemasters,
who are magically powerful warriors, Dreamweavers, who are able to bring ideas
to life, and Chosen, who are soldiers bound to Angels or Demons.The game uses the Rapidfire system, which
encourages quick combat and more roleplaying.

On another level, as much as I love-love-love this game, I
want to point out that it treats women very well.What do I mean by that?Looking through the book, there is very little
exploitative art (ie, women are fully clothed, and there is little cleavage to
be found).There are two badass
characters in the historical timeline, Rowan (a man) and Camille (a
woman).It is a welcome change.

There are also some
products that I would have loved to have seen nominated but didn’t quite make
the cut (there was some fierce competition!).

The Faerie Ring:Red Jack – this is a very clever little
supplement for Pathfinder.It is the
second installment of six in Along the Twisting Way, and provides a rich
backstory for an adversary that could pop up in any campaign.I will be searching out the other five
installments.http://zombieskypress.com/pathfinder/the-faerie-ring-red-jack/

All in all, I was very
excited for all the nominees, and happy for the winners as well.Though I may have my personal preferences, I
felt very proud at the ENnies ceremony about the high standard of quality in
roleplaying games over the last year.Can’t wait to see what next year holds!